Fanshawe College: New research centre will work with industry in agri-food, health care, and renewable energy

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Fanshawe College is setting up a biotechnology research centre with the help of $6.2 million in federal and provincial funding.

Fanshawe will establish the Centre for Advanced Research and Innovation in Biotechnology in renovated space in the D block of the school’s main campus in London.

Dave Machacek, chairperson of Fanshawe’s school of applied science and technology, said the new centre will allow students to work with industrial partners on research and new products in agri-food, health care and renewable energy

“Our goal is to blur the lines between industry and academic so when our students walk into a job, there’s no downtime,” said Machacek.

The centre also will enhance Fanshawe’s reputation as a research institution, he said. It will focus on applied research, in contrast to the basic, theoretical research conducted at universities.

Fanshawe recently opened its new Canadian Centre for Product Validation, which works with corporations to test and refine new products.

Students from the biotechnology, environmental technology and chemical laboratory technology will be using the new centre, which will open in the spring of 2018.

“Some of these programs have been here for 30 years and the space they are operating in needs to be upgraded,” said Machacek.

He said more money will be needed for equipment and renovations are expensive because of rigorous modern biosafety standards.

Of the $6.2-million investment, $4 million will come from the ­federal government and $2.2 million from the provincial government. Fanshawe College will kick in an additional $2.8 million to bring the total investment to $9 million.

The announcement was made Friday by two London North Centre Liberal politicians, MP Peter Fragiskatos and MPP Deb Matthews.

“Fanshawe’s new Centre for Advanced Research and Innovation in Biotechnology will allow the college to prepare graduates for relevant and rewarding careers in biotechnology, while providing space for students to collaborate on research projects with industry partners,” said Fanshawe president Peter Devlin.